The graduating class of 2024 has had a unique experience. Some of them call themselves “the COVID class.” Names matter, and I don’t love that name, but I understand it. COVID robbed them of their high school prom, a senior trip, a normal high school graduation. For many of them, even their college experience started online.
Yet now they are joining the ranks of college graduates. Truly, there is much to celebrate. We can take inspiration by noticing what helped them be resilient and cross the graduation finish line.
No doubt, things beyond their control shaped their college experience, but successful students recognized they were actors in their own story too. That’s wisdom that it takes some a lifetime to learn.
They recognized they had choices to make, and they chose to attend to the needs of their hearts, minds, and souls.
First, the heart. The class of 2024 chose to value relationships, especially face-to-face relationships. A lot has been said in recent years about college students not having real relationships because they are online too much. But I have observed that this class has made an important shift.
There is wisdom expressed in a line from an old Joni Mitchell
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN